I was positive my insides melted—and I’m pretty sure Lacy’s did too, even though she would never admit it. She always said Aiden was a player and too handsome for his own good. That he would never be true to one woman, especially since he was going into the military.
Aiden finally spoke, looking between the two of us. When his eyes landed on me, his smile faltered for the briefest of moments. “Morning…Squirt.”
Did he pause before he used that stupid nickname he and my brother called me?
With a smile, I replied, “Morning, Aiden.”
With his eyes still on me, he said, “Morning, Lace.”
“Aiden, is it possible at all for you to wear a shirt?” Lacy nearly barked out.
After a quick glance down at his shirtless form, he looked over at my sister. “Does it bother you, Lace?”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t want to see Hunter half-naked, so why in the hell would I want to see you half-naked?”
Aiden gave a half shrug, then looked at me and winked.
I gave him a shrug back and took a bite of my apple.
He leaned against the counter and flashed me a wide grin. “Does it bother you, Squirt?”
I shook my head and answered honestly. “Nope, not at all. I rather like looking at you with your shirt off.”
Aiden tossed his head back and let out a roar of laughter as Lacy fought to keep from smiling before she let her inner mom come out to play.
“For Pete’s sake, Willa, you’re only fifteen and barely that,” Lacy reprimanded after she managed to get a stern look on her face.
I looked from my sister to Aiden. “Excuse me, but I turned fifteen back in October. And that doesn’t mean I’m blind, Lace.”
Lacy shook her head as she turned away from me. Aiden gave me a big smile, his dimples flashing. My stomach dipped, and I tried to ignore the way it heated my body in places I was pretty sure shouldn’t be heated.
Something in Aiden’s eyes changed. He walked around the table, leaned his head down, and placed his mouth close to my ear. “If only you were older, Willamina Turner,” he whispered.
I felt my face heat then. Finally. Finally, the day had come where Aiden O’Hara looked at me with a different set of eyes. I was no longer the little sister of Hunter Turner. I was now Willamina Turner, young woman with boobs bigger than my sister’s. I fist pumped internally as Lacy turned back to face us and Aiden stepped away from me.
Hunter picked that moment to walk into the kitchen. He took one look at my flushed face and asked, “What’s going on?”
Lacy pointed at me and gave our brother a warning. “You better watch out, Hunter, our baby sister has the hots for Aiden here.”
Hunter laughed and shook his head. “Willa, that is a heart that’s unable to love. Best you move on to a boy your own age.”
I stood up, my eyes swinging from my brother over to Aiden. I had taken way too much time this morning picking out what I was going to wear on our first day back from winter break to not let Aiden get the full view.
I’d decided to show off my new changes slowly. So, I’d picked a pair of skinny jeans that Bree said showed off my ass. A light blue shirt that also showed off my breasts, though not with cleavage. It was tight fitting and, as Ellen put it, left things to the imagination. My figure, although still not like my sister Lacy’s, was finally starting to fill out, and I was positive Aiden had noticed.
He watched me as I rounded the island, tossed my apple core, rinsed out my bowl, and then leaned down and put the dish into the dishwasher. When I stood and faced him, something was for sure different. He looked at me with an expression I had never seen before. I swore his eyes turned dark gray when our gazes met. The kind of gray that comes over the mountain tops when a storm is getting ready to come in.
Then he winked, and I nearly tripped.
He winked. Wait until I told Bree and Ellen about this.
“Did you do something different with your hair, Willa?” Hunter asked.
I glanced at my brother. “I did. I got highlights and cut about three inches off.”
“It looks nice,” Aiden said as Hunter looked at him. They exchanged a glance, and then Aiden turned and poured himself a cup of coffee before he leaned back against the counter, his eyes on me once more.
This time, Hunter stared at me a bit longer. “What are you wearing, Willa?” he asked.
I looked down at myself. “Jeans and a shirt.”
Lacy started to laugh. “Little Willa has gone and grown up on us, Hunter.”
He frowned. “Where’s the sweatshirt you always wear?”
“You mean the one that hides the rocking figure baby girl is growing into?” Lacy said, tossing a smile in Aiden’s direction. He lifted his coffee up to his mouth and took a sip.
Hunter looked at Aiden, then back to me. He slowly shook his head. “Yeah, I’m not liking this at all, Willa.”
With a grin, I walked over and reached up onto my toes to kiss Hunter on the cheek. “Don’t worry, big brother, I promise not to lose my virginity in the back of the gym under the bleachers like Lacy did.”
Hunter spun around and looked at Lacy. “What! Who was it? I’m going to kick his fucking ass.”
“Nice deflection there, sis,” Lacy hissed as she grabbed her backpack. “We need to go, some of us still have a first-period class.”
As I walked by Aiden, he reached down and took my hand, gave it a soft squeeze, and then dropped it. No one else had noticed, since Hunter was still walking after Lacy, asking about the guy who’d popped her cherry.
“Don’t let these high school boys sweet-talk you, Willa.”
With a smirk, I replied, “They haven’t so far. Besides, I’m saving myself for someone.”
He raised a single brow. “Is that so? Do I know him?”
It was my turn to wink. “You look in the mirror at him every day.”
That caused him to take a step back, but his eyes stayed locked on mine. For the briefest moment, I swore he was going to kiss me. Instead, he shook his head as if to clear some wayward thoughts, and then walked away.
I stared at his retreating form as Hunter walked back into the kitchen and grabbed a banana and a protein bar. I started to make my way to the door when Hunter called out my name. I turned and faced him as I walked backward.
He smirked and said, “Don’t talk to boys.”
With a lighthearted laugh, I followed my sister out of the house and to her car.
“Watch out there, Willa,” Lacy said as I slid into the front seat.
“What do you mean?”
Lacy glanced at me before she started the car. “I think Aiden O’Hara just noticed you’re not a little girl anymore.”
With a smile, I turned back and looked at the house. “Let’s hope so.”
Sighing, she pulled out and started down our long drive. “This could be a very dangerous game you’re playing with your young heart, sis.”
I stared straight ahead. “Maybe, but it’s a game I’m willing to play.”
Willa
Senior Year
“Promise you won’t say anything, Willa,” Lacy begged.
I rolled my eyes and glared at her. “Lace, you’re going to the same party as Hunter and you want me to stay home. How is that fair?”